Hygene rinse

[bubs_and_us]

what is the best hygene rinse i can use for my nappies? i know the sun is the best sanitiser, but my clothesline is in full shade, so i want to add something to the wash.....

any ideas? i'd prefer something 'natural'

[waawa]

Hot water. Kills all relevant bugs without leaving chemical residues in your nappies or the environment, and without encouraging the growth of resistant bacteria.

Lara

[bubs_and_us]

my stoopid washing machine will only wash in cold water.....

someone told me vinegar will do the trick? is this true, or just a myth???

[susiehomemaker]

Im not sure about germs but it does neuturalise the wee and smell ;-) But it cannot be used if you have PUL in the nappies. Tea Tree oil is a natural germ killer, but also cant be used on nappies containing PUL. Apparently there is a dettol style sanitiser that is used in wash? What sort of nappies do you use??

[bubs_and_us]

BBH (they have no pul, but the cover does) and peapods and GK's...those 2 have pul.....

so, i wont be using vinegar then!!!!

hhmmmm..... im getting a new machine, so will be washing in warm/hot water, but in the meantime, i want something to use, because the sun cant even kill the germs

[M O P]

someone told me vinegar will do the trick? is this true, or just a myth???

it also wrecks the elastic in MCN if used regularly

[M O P]

You should ring Davina at BBHs, I know she's a very busy lady but she will know what to or what not to do with BBHs.

[mum2charli]

I have the same problem my line is in the shade so I use a couple of airers/clothes horses (does anyone actually call them that anymore :detective:) and sit them in the sun on my back step.

Just a warning though, peg them down otherwise you will end up searcing your yard for them for like 20 mins :rolleyes: :laughing:

[gremily]

In the BB handbook Davina recommends that vinegar can be used OCCASIONALLY to get rid of smells (nothing about germs though) but not as a part of you regular nappy washing routine.

Dettol Sanitising Rinse is what you'd be looking for, and there's also a Canestan Rinse which is pretty much the same thing - the Dettol one has a eucalyptus smell. You could probably use some ordinary Dettol and put it into the rinse cycle.

I usually just wash in cold water (but I have almost full sun on my clothes line throughout the day), but I still find smells build up after a mth or so - not necessary in the nappies but in my liners:confused: , so I do a hot wash occasionally.

If you're getting a new washing machine I suggest you look at a front loader - way less water used and really gentle on clothes, but still a great clean.:thumbsup: (but you'd probably already know that if you've had one).

[susiehomemaker]

Def recommend a front loader! They clean so much more thoroughly. I didnt fully appreciate mine until we went on hol's- the top loader there was a good brand, but boy! The clothes etc did not come out nearly so clean. I hate to think how the nappies would have been! Plus they use less water and are gentle (as gremily said :-)) Im sure I would have worked out how to clean more effectively with the top loader given time, but I still think that the front loader would have won hands down.

[bubs_and_us]

thankyou for the replies.... i'll go suss out the dettol or canestin rinse.. im assuming its in the laundry isle?

about the front loader/top loader washing machine.... i WANT a front loader, but what i want and what i get are usually 2 different things! it will all come down to what we can get for what we can afford :thumbsdown:

[gremily]

Yep, they're in the laundry aisle:thumbsup:

As for the washing machine, go and check out 2nd's stores. They sell stuff that is in absolute perfect working order but might have been either instore demo models or have a scratch/dent.
We got our clothes dryer from 2nd's World. Brand new, 6kg Fischer & Paykel for $200 less because it had a small scratch on the side that you could barely see! It meant we got a better and bigger model than we could have afforded had we gone to a 'normal' store.

[OscarTheGrouch]

I use the Canestan rinse occasionally. I like the smell of it better than the Dettol. Seems to keep the nappies fresh.

[waawa]

Another idea would be to get a cheap wire airing rack and put your nappies in the sun that way.

Lara

[Mummy-2-2]

Instead of using the canestan or the dettol. try using two or three drops of eucalyptus oil in the fabric softener part of the machine.

It has disinfectant properties. I used this when my daughter had thrush, and shared nappies with my son. It never got transferred, so it definitely works.

I dont use vinegar in the wash cos of the elastic/pul etc liike has already been said.